Three Sisters (13 page)

"Good," he said.

"M
EN DON'T MARRY
in May; women don't wed in June." In the countryside that is the taboo.

Actually, it is less a taboo than a consequence of the heavy fieldwork during the summer months. But that did not stop Wang Lianfang's eldest daughter, Yumi, from marrying herself off on the twenty-eighth of May, a mere six days after Lesser Fullness, the eighth of the twenty-four solar periods, when the winter wheat has become full, and one week before Grain in Beard, the ninth solar period. The most urgent and important task for farmers at this time is what they refer to as "fighting two battles."

The first, the "battle of the harvest," includes reaping, threshing, winnowing, and storing. The second, the "battle of the sowing," includes plowing, irrigating, leveling, and planting. Busy times.

People have only two hands, and by choosing this particular time to give her hand in marriage, Yumi showed a pronounced lack of judgment. She was well thought of by her fellow villagers, who viewed her as a sensible girl. But in a farming village, what sensible person would choose to get married in the month of May? No wonder Second Aunt, who lived at the end of the lane, talked about Yumi behind her back. "That girl," she said, "was in too big a hurry and couldn't keep her legs closed."

Truth is, that was unfair to Yumi. She got married when Guo Jiaxing decided it was time, and his decision rested solely on when his current wife died. She left this world in late March, and the "double seven" period of mourning—forty-nine days—ended on the twenty-eighth of May, when Guo announced that he was remarrying. Not deigning to visit Wang Family Village personally, he sent a clerk from the commune on the official speedboat, who set off a string of firecrackers as he passed beneath the bridge near the stone pier. Firecrackers in May—nothing could have sounded stranger. But, undeniably, they heralded a happy event. People on the riverbank saw the pair of red paper cutouts on the boat's windshield. The skipper was bugling the boat's arrival as it nestled up against the pier, leaving in its wake a V formation of waves that raced to both banks like the haughty dogs of a powerful master and pounced on the legs of the women standing on the pier. With shrieks of alarm, they jumped onto the riverbank with their buckets. The waves ceased when the boat was tied up at the pier and the clerk stepped out of the cabin.

It was a hasty wedding, a little shabby even, but as the commune speedboat was tied up at the stone pier, it didn't actually seem hasty or shabby; it succeeded in giving the impression of extravagance, even an air of implied superior power, since Yumi's bridal transport was to be the speedboat.

She betrayed none of the bashful confusion so common to and expected of brides-to-be; she was unruffled, brash and overweening, audacious and boastful. In other words, she behaved like someone with a powerful backer. She'd cut her hair short, which made her look almost athletic, ready to take on the world. She was wearing a neatly pressed red polyester top that was sheer, rich-looking, smooth, and stiff.

As she traveled the short distance from her home to the waiting speedboat, she created the unique impression of someone who was fond of both festive feminine attire and military bearing. She looked at no one as she walked alongside the clerk, but she knew that everyone was looking at her. The way the clerk, a dignified man, bowed and scraped made it clear that he was not the groom, and the villagers knew instinctively that her husband was no ordinary man. Instead of entering the cabin when she boarded, Yumi sat on a bench in the open-air stern. The banks of the river were packed as she sat there proudly, looking less and less like a resident of Wang Family Village.

The arrival of Yumi's father, Wang Lianfang, silenced the jabbering crowds. Several months earlier, after serving as the village Party secretary for twenty years, he had lost his job and been driven out of the Party. Why? He'd wound up in the "wrong bed." The wrong bed indeed. Over that twenty-year period he had slept with many women, and had been heard to say that he'd maneuvered his way through the three generations—old, middle-aged, and young. But this last episode had constituted a major offense, a real transgression. One day, sometime later, when he was mightily drunk, he was heard to chant: "One must never screw a soldier's wife." On this day, when he reached the pier, Wang surveyed the speedboat with the flair and dignity of a village secretary; he still looked every bit the Party member. He raised his arm and, with a flick of the wrist, said, "Off you go."

The motor started up, sending waves racing to shore like dogs chasing a bone. After the boat had traveled a short distance, it turned in a wide circle and headed back; by the time it passed the pier, it was up to full speed. Yumi's short hair stood up in the wind; her blouse fluttered. She sat facing the wind, looking like one of those intrepid women in propaganda posters, a woman who could charm any man and still look death in the face without flinching. The boat roared into the distance with the skipper sounding his horn repeatedly until only Yumi's red jacket was visible, waving like a flag.

Yumi's grandfather, grandmother, and five of her six sisters—Yusui, Yuying, Yuye, Yumiao, and Yuyang—were among the crowd of wellwishers; even her six-month-old baby brother was there in the arms of Yusui.

Her mother, Shi Guifang, had seen her only to the gate before returning to her room in the west wing, all alone in an empty and eerily quiet house. As she sat on the covered chamber pot she thought back to when Yumi was a little girl suckling at her breast. Then she recalled how Yumi would drool when she sucked her thumb, her two little eyes surveying her surroundings like a thief, the glistening spittle stretching like rubber.

When Shi Guifang clapped her hands behind Yumi, the girl's large head would spin around and, because it rested on such a thin neck, would wobble a few seconds before steadying. Then she'd laugh, showing her gums, and reach out with both arms, pudgy as lotus roots, to grab hold of her mother. Scene after scene, it seemed like only yesterday, and now here Yumi was, about to be married, soon to be a wife and mother—to belong to someone else. Shi Guifang felt a crushing sadness. The only reason she didn't cry was that she didn't want to spoil her daughter's wedding day. And this was not the sole cause of her sadness; there was another even deeper one. Yumi had only told Guifang of her wedding plans a few days before. That is to say, she had kept everyone, including her mother, in the dark about her impending wedding. Shi Guifang had always assumed that Yumi and the aviator, Peng Guoliang, were still romantically involved. Several months earlier during his visit, they had grown inseparable, shutting themselves up in the kitchen and hardly ever leaving. Looking back now, it had been an unattainable dream for Yumi.

A few nights earlier, Yumi had said, "Ma, I'm getting married." What a shock that had been. Guifang had a bad feeling about it.

"To whom?" she had asked.

"The deputy director of the Commune Revolutionary Committee. His name is Guo Jiaxing," she had replied.

So, a second wife. Desperate to know more, Shi Guifang did not have the nerve to ask any more questions when she saw the determined look on her daughter's face. But like mothers everywhere, she could guess what was in her daughter's heart, what fruit had been planted, and what flowers had grown. If Wang Lianfang had not suffered the calamity of losing his job and Party membership, the courtship between Yumi and her aviator would still be moving forward. And even if he'd called off the marriage, Yumi, with her good looks, would not have had to go to such extremes. She'd have found a marriage partner who would have helped erase the stain on her family's reputation. Suddenly beset by heartache, Shi Guifang covered her nose with a sheet of toilet paper. A sensible child can cause all sorts of anguish in a mother.

The third daughter of the family, Yuxiu, also stayed away from the pier. Yumi did not see Yuxiu anywhere as she searched the crowd of well-wishers before stepping into the boat. She knew why: Her sister would never show up anyplace where there were wagging tongues. Truth be told, Yuxiu was the one Yumi worried about the most. They had always been at odds with each other. Their mother often said that the "bad blood was a carryover from a previous life."

Yumi did not like Yuxiu, and Yuxiu felt the same way toward her. They were forever hatching schemes against each other, and over time their mutual animosity resulted in the creation of two camps among the seven sisters. Yumi commanded the loyalty of Yusui, Yuying, Yuye, Yumiao, and Yuyang; Yuxiu was a commander without an army.

As the eldest daughter, a mother figure herself, Yumi was in a position of authority. Her sisters, all but Yuxiu, did what she said. Yuxiu would not give Yumi the respect she desired. Her natural asset—her beauty—was the source of her defiance. She had beautiful eyes, a lovely nose, pretty lips, and perfect teeth. She was quite simply everything a young woman could want to be, and this was why she had developed undisguised arrogance. She was not just beautiful; she was obsessed with her beauty, her mind focused solely on how she looked. Her hair, for instance. Although she wore braids like all the other girls, she managed to distinguish herself by leaving stray locks at her temples, which she twisted around her fingers so they would curl like melon vines alongside her ears. While that might not seem like much, it was eye-catching, different, coquettish, and reminiscent of the female enemy agents in the movies. She was a bundle of affectations, always acting a part, her attitude one of insouciance.

In general terms, the residents of Wang Family Village shared common views of Secretary Wang's daughters: Yumi was a sensible girl, as the eldest ought to be; Yusui was flighty; Yuying was well-behaved; Yuye was stubborn; Yumiao was bad-tempered; and Yuyang was sweet. As for Yuxiu, they all agreed that she was a little fox fairy, a seductive girl. How could she fit in with her sisters? She had no qualms about being in conflict with any of the others; her bold independence stemmed not only from her good looks, but also from the fact that she had a backer.

Wang Lianfang showered his attentions on his son and was indifferent toward his daughters—except Yuxiu, whom he liked.

Why?

People were drawn to her, and that was reason enough for a Party secretary to be fond of her. With Yuxiu backed by her father, no one would have dared put her in front of a firing squad even if she had been an enemy agent. People liked to say that both the palm and the back of the hand are flesh and blood, so parents love all their children the same. It is a ridiculous saying. If you don't believe me, examine your own hand. The palm may be flesh and blood, but not the back, which is mostly bone wrapped in a thin layer of skin.

Given her natural inclinations and studied affectations, Yuxiu was secure with her father's backing. She picked on not only her younger sisters but her older sisters as well, after which she would cozy up to her father and complain about being mistreated, a girl all alone, charmingly sweet, deserving of his sympathy, and eminently loveable. When there was trouble, she was usually at fault, yet she was always the first to complain, armed with all sorts of reasons or excuses. This trait, more than anything, upset her sisters, who found common cause to line up even more strongly in Yumi's camp against Yuxiu, the seductive tease.

And yet, as the eldest, Yumi needed to be prudent and adopt a wellthought-out strategy to deal with Yuxiu, especially when the family needed to unite against outsiders. She had to rally all the forces available to her, which included winning over Yuxiu to seek unity. Once Yumi had taken care of those outside forces, she'd close the door and turn her attention to dealing with the internal struggle between the two camps. She could launch a determined attack on precisely that which needed fixing. Either bringing the opposition over or beating it down would solidify her head of household status, which was her goal. While there was the appearance of two camps, in reality, it was a contest between two individuals—Yumi and Yuxiu.

In fact, Yuxiu was contemptuous of Yumi, whose greatest asset was her ability to mobilize the masses. One on one, Yumi might not have been up to the challenge. But given Yumi's pack of henchmen, Yuxiu was hopelessly outnumbered. Yumi's advantage was that Yuxiu gave little thought to numerical inferiority, for she was obsessed with her role as a fox fairy; she saw herself as a seductive serpent. With each alluring twist of the neck and flick of her forked tongue, she slithered along captivatingly no matter where she went.

The serpent's body had slithered along until the spring of 1971. Once that cold night had passed, Yuxiu was aware that the attractive serpent was a chimera.

The village was wild with joy on the day the incident occurred. The commune's movie boat had glided up to the Wang Family Village pier, and the residents were about to enjoy their first movie since Wang Lianfang had lost his position and been kicked out of the Party. It was a day of irrepressible jubilation.

Yuxiu was always happy when there was a movie. She and her sister had reacted differently to their father's troubles. Yumi appeared to be unconcerned, but that was all for show, a pretense. Yuxiu was the one who really did not care, for she had her beauty, something no one could take away. So she went to see the movie; Yumi did not. Yuxiu was smart enough to see the advantages of restraint, so she held back from grabbing a seat in the middle. Up till then, the best seats at a movie had always gone to the Wang family; no one would have dared squabble over them. Anyone who "beat the dog without seeing who owned it" was just asking for trouble.

On this evening, Yuxiu, with Yuye in tow, stood in the last row rather than work her way up through the crowd. The wife of Wang Caiguang, seeing that Yuye was too short to see over people's heads and not caring that the Wang family status had plummeted, graciously signaled them over and gave up her seat to Yuye. Years earlier, she had been one of Wang Lianfang's lovers. When the affair ended, she'd swallowed pesticide and jumped into the river, presenting a ghastly sight and having a significant impact on the village. Happily, that had been years before. As she stood beside Caiguang's wife, Yuxiu was quickly caught up in the movie, and when the night turned cold and the wind blew on her neck, she buried her hands in her sleeves to keep them warm and scrunched her neck down into her collar. About halfway through the movie, Yuxiu needed to relieve herself, but by then the winds were so strong that the screen began to billow and bend the hunched figures on it out of shape. She decided to stay put. She could wait till she got home. There is truth in the saying that "Cold winds make for short necks, chilled air makes relief seem long."